Nursery News

Baby Swan's nursery is starting to come together.  Well not exactly.  It still looks exactly the same and has the appearance of a TV room/game room/dog's room/music room, with the addition of the glider (the only baby-related thing in the nursery at this moment).  But we now have all the main big-ticket furniture items.  Which means we bought a crib this weekend!  We already have a dresser, night stand and desk from my furniture in high school/college/law school that we're using.  With a little ingenuity the desk will convert into a changing table and the night stand will go next to the glider.  And the glider was given to us as a hand-me-down gift.  So that just left the crib.

We looked for cribs at Babies R Us, New Baby Products, Georgia Baby and Kids, Target, Walmart, Pottery Barn Kids and The Babies Room, as well as many online stores and sites.  I had decided I wanted either a colored crib (i.e. blue or green) or a black crib.  The furniture we already have is "natural wood" Bassett furniture, and while Bassett baby does make cribs, I didn't like any of the cribs that came in the natural finish.  So I figured that it would be best to find a colored crib or a black crib, rather than trying to match up the woods.  I also think white cribs are more girly and wasn't finding any white ones I loved.  My other big "issue" was that I do not like the really high backed cribs, and most cribs tend to have the high back.

So after a discouraging shopping trip on Saturday, I realized I really wanted the Stanley Young America crib in blue.  Isn't it dreamy?

Well its also pricey.  I could get the non-convertible crib for around $676 plus tax and shipping.  So in the end, we'd be looking at at least $700 for the crib, not including the mattress.  But this is the only piece of furniture we need to buy for the baby's room, so I had convinced myself that it was rational to purchase this crib.  And I was in love with it.  It's for our first baby.  I'm going to be birthing said baby, so I deserve it, right?  Well we decided to sleep on it and I was going to look again on Sunday with my mom.

After a good night sleep and some serious thinking, I still thought I deserved the crib and was justified in purchasing it, even if it would be the most expensive piece of furniture that we'd purchased for our house (aside from our couches).  But mom and I went looking anyway.  I should have known that an afternoon shopping with the savvy smart deal shopping queen would turn out the way it did.  Mom never pays full price for anything and she's passed this on to me.  TJMaxx and Marshalls are two of our favorite stores.  And better yet when we can find things on clearance.  We both like nice things, we just don't like to pay big bucks for them.

So it shouldn't have been a shock to me that we found a crib at Babies R Us that I decided I could work with.  It was $329, which was much more reasonable.  And I liked it.  I didn't love it, but did I really need to love my baby's crib?  I figured I could cutesy it up with bedding and be totally in love with the final nursery product.  The crib was just a single part of the bigger picture.  So this was the front runner as of about noon yesterday:

And then we went to The Baby's Room in Kennesaw.  They had the Stanley cribs in all the bright colors and I again started leaning towards these expensive, beautiful cribs.  And then I found a black crib that I really liked.  I don't know if I'd say I loved it, but I was very much in deep like with it.  And it is black, which I do love.  A black baby crib feels so posh (or maybe I'm just deluded).  The crib was very sturdy and I felt comfortable that Baby Swan would be safe sleeping in it.  I was starting to really like this crib.  And then I saw the price.  Originally $329.  On sale for $279.  Limited time offer of $199.  And at that point I fell in love with the crib.  I sent a picture to Mr. Cob for his approval and he gave me the thumbs up.  And I then bought said crib.  And now I'm happy.

I've realized that I am my mother's daughter.  Just call me the bargain basement princess.  If there's a deal to be had, I'll find it, especially if the savvy shopping queen is with me! 

And really, does a baby need to sleep in a more expensive bed than his parents?  Wait, his parents don't really have a "bed"....just a mattress and box spring.  Hum, maybe we can take the saved money and buy a headboard for ourselves!